A chocolate bunny or chocolate rabbit is a piece of chocolate in the shape of a rabbit, usually stylized, and generally hollow. [1] The cocoa confection is related to the religious Easter holiday that occurs annually around the months of March and April. [2] The chocolate shaped bunny can be wrapped in a colorful tin-foil, a decorated box, or simply the chocolate itself. [1]
The notable Easter Bunny was introduced to Christians by German folklore in the early 13th century. [3] Stories of an egg-laying white hare fostered the popular egg and rabbit Easter theme and traditions. [3] In the Bible, rabbits are known for being a sign of fertility and new life in which the chocolate bunny now denotes to. [3] Chocolate bunny molds are believed to have been first introduced in Germany and later brought to America. [3] By the early 1920s chocolate bunnies became a household tradition in the United States to commemorate the holiday. [4]
Two separate bunny-shaped molds are filled with chocolate, which will later be connected to create the common hollow chocolate bunny shape. [1] Once the molds are filled, machines shake the chocolate around to ensure complete and even filling. [1] Many companies often wrap the hardened chocolate bunny in decorated foil to ensure freshness, while still being festive. [1] The bunnies often come in cardboard and plastic packaging to ensure the delicate chocolate does not break. [1]
Chocolate is one of the most commonly sold treats around the national Easter Holiday; in some years, chocolate sales can surpass $400 million a few weeks before the holiday. [5] Chocolate bunnies can be found for sale in many drugstores and grocery stores in America a few months or weeks leading up to Easter. The religious holiday comes in second place, after Halloween, for selling the most candy during a holiday season. [6] Today, the chocolate bunny is a staple for many Easter baskets around the world. More than 50% of people in the United States prefer chocolate bunnies and eggs over other candies as their choice of an Easter treat. [2] Due to their overwhelming popularity, over 90 million chocolate bunnies are produced yearly for consumers in the United States. [6]
There have been cases of choking and illness from the decorated foil the bunnies are often wrapped in, as well as concern regarding child exploitation marketing and exposure to early obesity linked to the popular chocolate. [7] The Easter Bunny character is similar to the famous Santa Claus figure used during the Christmas season, particularly in the United States and Europe, to market products and signify the holiday. Some studies claim the Easter Bunny figure, which is a staple for the Easter chocolate and candy, is another example of child exploitation in holiday marketing techniques. [7] Cases of choking related to foil wrappings used by chocolate bunnies and eggs have been reported and are another concern for some regarding the confection. [8]
Since 2000, Lindt’s chocolate bunny was granted trademark status. This has led to several legal battles, including in 2011 against Hauswirth in a Vienna court, and by the supermarket Lidl in Switzerland. [9]
Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are commonly used during the season of Eastertide. The oldest tradition, which continues to be used in Central and Eastern Europe, is to dye and paint chicken eggs.
Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories: bakers' confections and sugar confections. The occupation of confectioner encompasses the categories of cooking performed by both the French patissier and the confiseur.
Kinder Surprise, also known as Kinder Egg or Kinder Surprise Egg, is a milk chocolate consisting of a chocolate egg surrounding a yellow plastic capsule with a small toy inside. Manufactured by the Italian company Ferrero since 1974, it was co-created by Michele Ferrero and William Salice, and is one of several candies sold under the Kinder brand. Kinder Surprise was originally created with children in mind, replicating an Italian Easter family tradition in which adults give children large chocolate eggs with toys inside. However, Kinder Surprise toys have become collectible for adults as well. Since 1974, 30 billion Kinder Surprise eggs have been sold worldwide.
The Easter Bunny is a folkloric figure and symbol of Easter, depicted as a rabbit—sometimes dressed with clothes—bringing Easter eggs. Originating among German Lutherans, the "Easter Hare" originally played the role of a judge, evaluating whether children were good or disobedient in behavior at the start of the season of Eastertide, similar to the "naughty or nice" list made by Santa Claus. As part of the legend, the creature carries colored eggs in its basket, as well as candy, and sometimes toys, to the homes of children. As such, the Easter Bunny again shows similarities to Santa and Christmas by bringing gifts to children on the night before a holiday. The custom was first mentioned in Georg Franck von Franckenau's De ovis paschalibus in 1682, referring to a German tradition of an Easter Hare bringing eggs for the children.
Candy, alternatively called sweets or lollies, is a confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, also called sugar confectionery, encompasses any sweet confection, including chocolate, chewing gum, and sugar candy. Vegetables, fruit, or nuts which have been glazed and coated with sugar are said to be candied.
Candy corn is a small, pyramid-shaped candy, typically divided into three sections of different colors, with a waxy texture and a flavor based on honey, sugar, butter, and vanilla. It is a staple candy of the fall season and Halloween in North America.
Cadbury Creme Egg is a chocolate confection produced in the shape of an egg. It originated from the British chocolatier Fry's in 1963 before being renamed by Cadbury in 1971. The product consists of a thick chocolate shell containing a sweet white and yellow filling that resembles fondant. The filling mimics the albumen and yolk of a soft boiled egg.
Hershey's Kisses is a brand of chocolate first produced by the Hershey Company in 1907. The bite-sized pieces of chocolate have a distinctive conical shape, sometimes described as flat-bottomed teardrops. Hershey's Kisses chocolates are wrapped in squares of lightweight aluminum foil. A narrow strip of paper, called a plume, sticks out from the top of each Hershey's Kiss wrapper. Originally designed as a flag for the "Hershey's" brand, the printed paper plumes were added to the Kisses product wrapper in 1921 to distinguish the Hershey's Kiss from its competitors who were offering similar products.
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are an American candy by the Hershey Company consisting of a peanut butter filling encased in chocolate. They were created on November 15, 1928, by H. B. Reese, a former dairy farmer and shipping foreman for Milton S. Hershey. Reese left his job with Hershey to start his own candy business. Reese's are a top-selling candy brand worldwide, with more than $2 billion in annual sales.
The Irukandji jellyfish are any of several similar, extremely venomous species of rare jellyfish. With a very small adult size of about a cubic centimetre, they are both the smallest and one of the most venomous jellyfish in the world. They inhabit the northern marine waters of Australia, and cost the Australian government $AUD 3 billion annually through medical costs associated with stings and tourism losses. This type of jellyfish reproduces sexually with eggs and sperm. They fire their stingers into their victim, causing a condition known in humans as Irukandji syndrome, which can be fatal and difficult to immediately recognise due to the delayed effects of the venom. There are about 16 known species of Irukandji, of which Carukia barnesi, Malo kingi, Malo maxima, Malo filipina and Malo bella are the best known.
An Easter basket, also known as a Paschal basket, is a basket used during the Christian Easter season. In different times and places across the various Christian branches, Easter baskets have served different purposes. For adults, Easter baskets may have deep religious significance and be blessed by a priest. In modern times, the baskets may be filled with food or toys and presented to children as gifts. They are also used by children to gather hidden eggs during egg hunts.
An egg hunt is a treasure hunt played at Easter during which children look for hidden decorated eggs or Easter eggs. Real hard-boiled eggs, which are typically dyed or painted, artificial eggs made of plastic filled with chocolate or candies, or foil-wrapped egg-shaped chocolates of various sizes are hidden in various places; as many people give up sweets as their Lenten sacrifice, individuals consume them after having abstained from them during the preceding forty days of Lent.
The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town is a 1977 American-Japanese musical Easter television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions, using their "Animagic" stop motion animation. The special reunites the writer Romeo Muller, designer Paul Coker Jr., and narrator Fred Astaire from Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town, and stars the voices of Skip Hinnant, Bob McFadden, Meg Sargent, James Spies, and Allen Swift. It originally premiered on ABC in the United States on April 6, 1977.
Easter traditions are customs and practices that are followed in various cultures and communities around the world to celebrate Easter, which is the central feast in Christianity, commemorating the resurrection of Jesus. The Easter season is seen as a time of celebration and feasting, in contrast to the antecedent season of Lent, which is a time of penitence and fasting.
Hop is a 2011 American live-action/animated Easter fantasy comedy film produced by Illumination Entertainment and Relativity Media, and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film was directed by Tim Hill and produced by Chris Meledandri and Michele Imperato Stabile, from a screenplay written by Brian Lynch and the writing team of Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, the latter two of whom also conceived the film's story. It stars James Marsden, Russell Brand, Kaley Cuoco, Hank Azaria, Gary Cole, Elizabeth Perkins, David Hasselhoff, Chelsea Handler, and Hugh Laurie, with Tiffany Espensen, Dustin Ybarra, and Hugh Hefner in supporting roles. The film follows a young rabbit who would rather drum in a band than succeed his father as the Easter Bunny, and befriends a human slacker seeking a job.
The holiday of Easter is associated with various Easter customs and foodways. Preparing, coloring, and decorating Easter eggs is one such popular tradition. Lamb is eaten in many countries, mirroring the Jewish Passover meal.
Susan Ruth Wilson was an Australian statistician, known for her research in biostatistics and statistical genetics, and for her work on the understanding of AIDS in Australia. She edited the bulletin of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics from 1993 to 1998, and was president of the International Biometric Society from 1998 to 1999.
Marjorie Elizabeth Dulcie Bick was an Australian biochemist.